Software Vault: The Diamond Collection/The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO/cdr16/tc15_121.zip/TC15-121.TXT

Text File | 1995-03-12 | 28KB | 676 lines

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 28 Feb 95 01:52:00 CST    Volume 15 : Issue 121

Inside This Issue:                           Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    3 School Teachers Charged in Net Child Porn Ring (TELECOM Digest
Editor)
    Book Review: "Modems Made Easy" by Hakala (Rob Slade)
    Internet Society, DC Chapter _kick-off_ Event (Bruce Thompson)
    AT&T Wants to be Your On-Ramp (John Shaw)
    What is a Digital PBX? (Matt Noah)
    Studio Quality NTSC Digital Video Realtime Transmission (Jim Chen)
    What Are You Doing in the Falkland Islands? (Paul Robinson)
    Sprint Fiber Cut; Any Information Available ([e-mail])
    Last Laugh! Nick Cheats on His Wife (TELECOM Digest Editor)

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: 3 School Teachers Charged in Net Child Porn Ring
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1995 01:00:00 CST


I lost the notes I had on this, so I am going to reconstruct it from
memory. It was in the papers over the weekend.

It seems the latest rage on Internet where the mass media is
concerned is going to be child porn. If there is a ring going, so
much the better, eh?  Watch and see if this theme is not going to
be hammered down our throats now for awhile until something better
comes along.

Anyway, the papers reported that three elementary school teachers
were arrested on February 17.  Their offense was being in possession
of child porn and passing it back and forth on the net. Two of the
teachers are in Florida, and the other is in South Carolina. The
government claims the two in Florida were manufacturing it and sending
it to the guy in South Carolina. The two in Florida, it is claimed,
were getting young boys to come their homes where they received
money for doing the no-no thing on video. This video was then converted
into computer files and shipped over the Internet to the fellow in
South Carolina. He in turn distributed it elsewhere, to fellow .. umm,
enthusiasts via computer.

The authorities would not have known about him had they not raided
the computers in Florida and found email, etc addressed to him. It
seems there were other names there as well, i.e. other members of
the ring who received the files showing boys doing the no-no thing
and these folks are also teachers.

In a thinly veiled threat the investigators handling this case issued
a press release saying in part, "We know all school teachers are not
pedophiles, but quite a few are ... and we know that many pedophiles
select occupations where they can make easy contact with their victims.
Based on the additional names found in the computers of the men we
have arrested, our investigation will continue with an emphasis on
*school teachers who have computers and use the Internet*."

Oh wow!  Maybe librarians who operate children's departments in their
library who own computers and use the Internet should be included in
this investigation.  It probably would not hurt to include social
workers and youth workers who login on the net also. And whatever they
do, they should not forget to investigate the youth pastors at various
churches.

Well, they did not include all those categories ... just school
teachers, which ought to send a few chills around the net. This is
starting to sound more and more like old Joe McCarthy, a creep most
of you would not remember, even if you may have heard about him.

McCarthy was a senator from Wisconsin during the 1950's. With the
exception of whenever the Senate was having roll call for a vote,
he spent the rest of his time all day holding hearings, with the
threat of federal subpoena and Contempt of Congress charges hanging
over the heads of those who would not cooperate.

McCarthy's hearings were to locate and identify 'known communists
and homosexuals' employed by the government. He considered them to
pretty much be one and the same, although he admitted there were
some homosexuals who were not communist and vice-versa. All day long
parades of 'witnesses' came before his congressional committee to
plead their own innocence and snitch on others in an effort to
save themselves. What year was it, 1951-52?  The McCarthy hearings
went on all that summer for several weeks. Like his contemporary
in government J. Edgar Hoover, McCarthy spared no effort to identify
and root out 'deviants'.

Then at night, after a hard day at work, McCarthy would retire to
one of various gay bars in Washington, DC where he would cruise for
a lover of his own for the evening ... anonymously of course. Oh, he
was a strange one alright. Sometimes if he was in a hurry to get out
to the bars, he would adjourn the afternoon session of his hearings
early. If you watched the hearings regards the Supreme Court judge
and the allegations of sexual harrassment and thought that was funny,
then you would have considered Joe McCarthy to be a real riot.

About the same time in Idaho, some fellow was arrested for doing the
no-no thing in the men's room of the public library, and the uproar
over his actions caused the editors of the {Boise Idaho Statesman}
newspaper to run an editorial entitled 'crush the monsters'. In it
the newspaper encouraged police to identify and arrest all homosexuals.
The police took that message to heart, and there followed over a period
of about three years in the middle 1950's a *massive* witch hunt for
gay men (no one ever told the idiots there is such a thing as gay
women) throughout the state of Idaho. And each one arrested took the
advice of the police that, 'if you tell us the names of all the people
you know who are deviants it will make our job a lot easier'. They
were all telling on each other; it was an unbelievable thing. Each
one arrested would give still more names to the police, etc.

McCarthy used the same tactics: tell us the names of the people you
know who are communists or homosexuals; if you make it easy on us
we will make it easy on you ... either that or be held in Contempt
of Congress. Joe handed out those contempt citations on a regular
basis, and the 'witnesses' would always hand over a few more names
Joe did not have on his list yet.

                      --------------------

Now fast forward forty years ... the newspapers are banging their
drums and talking about all the child pornographers on the net. By the
way, I do *not* equate child pornographers with gay men; let's set
that straight here and now.  How often since the first of this year
has a day gone by you have *NOT* read something negative about the
net in the papers?

    -- Mitnick, the infamous hacker captured;

    -- the kid in Ann Arbor gets arrested for writing threats;
       with a sex twist to the case of course;

    -- other hackers and phreaks arrested, stories told in detail;

    -- and of course the child and other assorted pornographers;
       the couple put on trial in Tennessee for pornography;

    -- a lengthy article in (I beleive) the {Village Voice} talking
       about how people behave themselves in hot chat on the major
       systems.

And more ... there are not many days now we do not read something about
the net in the papers, and never is it positive. And now we read that
investigators feel more attention should be given to 'school teachers
with computers who use the Internet' ... they might be part of a ring
involved in child pornography. After all, three have been arrested in
the southeast, and they had names of others. Isn't that precious?

Gee, you don't think the newspapers have an axe to grind with the net
do you?  I mean, its not like their circulation has gone down in
recent years is it?  It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that
there are only now only about 20 percent of the number of newspapers
in the USA today there were even thirty years ago, or the fact that
circulation and delivery hassles are worse than ever does it? Its not
like they want to keep their tight grip on the information business
and charge lots of money for what most of us get for free is it?

So in my opinion, watch the papers keep on banging their drums and
having a grand time with every degrogatory story they can find about
the Internet and its components. The more they write, and the more
erroneous their reports, the more the general citizenry will get in
an uproar and demand 'something needs to be done'. And the more the
citizens squall, the more the government will be egged on to clamp
down on things here. The more the government harasses the net, the
more the papers will have to write about. See how neatly it all fits
together?

Not only that, but the more the citizens scream and the government
reacts and the newspapers report, the more the same citizens will be
looking for admission to this not-so-exclusive of late club, so they
too can share in the alt.sex.stories and other benefits of membership
in the club.

You watch; this will be the year of the Internet, with lurid reports in
the mass media on an almost daily basis before the year is out. A ring
of pedophile school teachers operating on the net?  My, my, what will
they think of next?

What's going to happen is the constant abuse of the 'child pornography
is so bad, we have to take any actions possible to stop it' theory
is going to cause that theory to lose whatever currency it may still
enjoy.

Yeah, child porn is sleazy stuff for sleazy people; but it is getting
to where its like a joke when the government mentions it in connection
with some investigation or another.  Whatever shock value comes with
the announcement 'child porn was found on the net' is going to wear
off. *Then* what will be next?


PAT

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 14:09:08 EST
From: Rob Slade <[e-mail]>
Subject: Book Review: "Modems Made Easy" by Hakala


BKMDMDEZ.RVW   950123

"Modems Made Easy", David Hakala, 1993, 0-07-881962-8, U$16.95
%A   David Hakala [e-mail] [e-mail]
%C   2600 Tenth St., Berkeley, CA   94710
%D   1993
%G   0-07-881962-8
%I   McGraw-Hill/Osborne
%O   U$16.95 510-548-2805 800-227-0900
[e-mail]
%T   "Modems Made Easy"

This is a good, short, solid overview of what you can do with modems.
Newcomers to the online world will likely need not only some help with
installation, the first few calls, tuning, and troubleshooting, but
with an introduction to all aspects of microcomputer communications.

An overview of modems does a good job of explaining protocol concepts
with real world analogies.  A chapter on buying a modem is quite
brief, but realistic, as is the advice on software.  Chapter five, on
setting up your modem, is short and practical.

Chapter six, on software installation, should be considerably expanded
in order to assist first-time users.  The concepts have been
explained, in chapter two, but the specifics of how that works out are
lacking.  There is a good section on identifying COM ports (often
missing in other works), but little advice on how to identify
incorrect parameter settings.  Appendix B, on troubleshooting, does
have some advice but it, too, is quite terse.

Chapters seven to twelve give you a rundown on what to do with a
modem: call a BBS, call a commercial online service, call an
electronic mail service, call the Internet, call another private
computer, or set up your own BBS.  The material on the different types
of services is quite reasonable and unbiased, and gives you good
advice on what to expect (although the Internet section could use a
bit of fact checking).  "Remote access", the ability to use your home
or office computer from another remote computer, is the only missing
application.

The last three chapters offer some helpful, related advice on
money-saving tips, communications-related shareware, and the
communications aspects of Windows.  There are also a number of
resource lists, including the ASP BBS list, the "Boardwatch 100" list,
and communications hardware and software vendors.

Those buying and setting up modems for the first time may want
additional sources of buying advice and help, but this is very
definitely worth consideration as a general advisor and entre to the
online world.


copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995   BKMDMDEZ.RVW   950123. Distribution
permitted in TELECOM Digest and associated publications. Rob Slade's
book reviews are a regular feature in the Digest.


Vancouver      [e-mail]
Institute for  [e-mail]
Research into  [e-mail]
User           [e-mail]
Security       Canada V7K 2G6

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 14:45:00 EST
From: Bruce Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Internet Society, DC Chapter _kick-off_ Event


Internet Society Washington, DC Chapter Inaugural Meeting

The Washington DC chapter of the Internet Society (DC-ISOC)
proudly presents:

   _The Internet Comes to Washington_

Join us for a unique event where leaders from government, technology,
industry, and education will share their views about the Internet.
This kick-off event will assemble a diverse blend of key players
involved with the Internet's creation, usage and future.

Who should attend?

 - Internet services providers
 - Government policy makers
 - Representatives of special interests related to Internet
    - educational uses
    - freedom and privacy concerns
    - business uses
 - Anyone interested in the Internet's continued success and growth

Note this important event on your calendar now for March 9, 1995.
Preliminary information is included below.  A final announcement will be
distributed soon.

             ----------- Event Overview: -----------

Title: _The Internet Comes to Washington_
Date:  Thursday, March 9, 1995
Time:  6 PM - 9 PM
Place: Georgetown University
       Reiss Science Building -- Room 103
       Washington, DC

There is no charge to attend "Internet Comes to Washington."  This
event inaugurates programs and activities of the Washington, DC
Chapter of the Internet Society (DC-ISOC).

Directions:   See below
Registration: See below

          ---------------- Schedule: ----------------

6:00 - 7:00  Registration
7:00 - 7:10  Welcoming remarks and introduction to DC-ISOC
7:10 - 8:00  Speaker presentations and panel discussion
8:00 - 9:00  Informal discussions

Mr. Anthony Rutkowski (Executive Director, Internet Society) will
introduce speakers and moderate the panel discussion.  Speakers will
give brief presentations about the Internet from their perspectives.
This will be followed by a moderated question and answer period.

The last hour will allow informal discussions with the speakers and
among your fellow industry leaders and peers.

          -------------- Speakers Include: ----------------

Vinton Cerf: Internet Society President and
             Senior Vice President at MCI.

Tom Kalil:   Director to the National Economic Council at the
             White House and a principal on the White House
             Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF).

Brock Meeks: Washington Bureau Chief for Interactive Week,
             Creator of Cyberwire Dispatch, and contributing writer for
             Wired Magazine

Linda Roberts: Special Advisor on Education Technology at the
               U.S. Department of Education (tentative)

Frank H. Slovenec: President and Chief Operating Officer at
                   Government Technical Services Inc. (GTSI)

TBD: United States Congress (pending invitation acceptance)


·
Due to seating limitations, we request preregistration for this event.
(see registration details below) The latest information about this
event can be found at: http://www.dcisoc.org/dcisoc.


             ---------- About DC-ISOC -----------------

DC-ISOC was formed to meet unique needs of Washington, DC-area
Internet planners, builders, and users, and to help represent the
Internet to the U.S. government.  The Internet Society itself
(headquartered in nearby Reston, VA), a global organization, has
encouraged creation of DC-ISOC to allow the headquarters organization
to maintain a global perspective, while the chapter meets the pressing
need for Internet representation in the U.S. government's work to
define the National Information Infrastructure (NII).

DC-ISOC's other major focus, concerns of the many Internet service
providers, and policy and user advocacy groups concentrated in the
DC-area "Netplex" (Fortune magazine, 3/7/94), is also a natural
direction for a local chapter.  DC-ISOC recognizes that several
existing organizations, each covering a specific aspect of the
Internet, exist.  The chapter will provide a mechanism and forum for
those diverse interests to interact and advance their goals.

DC-ISOC membership is open to individuals and corporations with a
strong interest in how the Internet develops, whom it serves, and how
it is used.  The chapter especially encourages participation by
representatives of the many DC-area Internet service providers, public
interest and other advocacy groups, representatives of Federal
Government agencies, and interested individuals.

For further information contact DC-ISOC via:
Email address  [e-mail]
HTML           http://www.dcisoc.org/dcisoc.
Phone number   [phone]


        ---- Directions to Reiss Science Building: ----

Reiss Science Building, Room 103, Georgetown University

 From the front gate, head diagonally across the main courtyard,
bearing to the right, toward the large building with the sloped room
(the Intercultural Center, or ICC).  The Reiss Science Building is
immediately north of the ICC: follow the sidewalk to the right of the
ICC and up the stairs, and enter the building on the Northeast side.
Signs will direct you to the auditorium.

Pay parking is available in Parking Lot 3, accessible via Canal Road
or Prospect Street (take 37th south from the main gate, which
dead-ends at Prospect Street, then bear right).  From the East end of
Parking Lot 3, follow the service drive North past the Jesuit cemetery
and the ICC, and the Reiss Science Building will be the next building
on the right as you head up the hill.

            ---------- Registration: ------------

You can register for the event in several ways:

Email the enclosed registration form to [e-mail].

On-line registration at: http://www.dcisoc.org/dcisoc.

Contact the Internet Society at [phone].


Name:
Title:
Organization:
Telephone:
FAX:
Email:
Postal address:

There is no charge to attend "Internet Comes to Washington."  This
event inaugurates the programs and activities of the Washington DC
Chapter of the Internet Society (DC-ISOC).

------------------------------

From: John Shaw <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T Wants to be Your On-Ramp
Date: 27 Feb 1995 15:06:19 -0800
Organization: Computer Users Information Exchange


The following abstract appeared in a recent issue of {Cybernautics
Digest}.

*****************************
AT&T Wants To Be Your On-Ramp
*****************************

Your set-top just got more crowded. According to Junko Yoshida, AT&T
will begin selling "a new breed of interactive consumer device that
will bring voice, e-mail and fax messaging, together with personalized
information services, onto a TV screen" in the second-quarter of this
year ("AT&T unveils 'Sage' info center at CES," Electronic Engineering
Times, Jan. 9, 1995, p. 10).

Yoshida reports that the $329 AT&T TV Information Center, which uses
existing phone lines, can store 20 minutes of digital voice messages.
Users will be able select which voice message they want to listen to
from an on-screen list, and will be able to access topic-specific
news, sports scores, local traffic, weather, and interactive services
such as electronic home-banking and bill paying. AT&T says customers
will be able to purchase a basic package of these services for less
than $10 a month.

"This was specifically designed as an alternative device for those who
choose not to buy a PC at home," says Bell Labs V.P. Eric Sumner in
the article. In response to set-top boxes being developed by other
telcos and cable companies, Sumner says AT&T's new devices will be
positioned as "information superhighway on-ramp products for everyone
that can be used today, instead of something useful five years from
now."

AT&T will also sell a model that connects to a PC and a $199 model
that consists of a phone with a built-in screen. Zenith Electronics
Corp., through an agreement with AT&T, will begin incorporating the
technology into its TVs and cable set-top boxes beginning in early
1996, Yoshida reports.

A sidebar on Bell Laboratories' new Plan 9 operating system, which
AT&T's product uses, accompanies the article. The new OS has been
viewed as a possible successor to Bell Labs' Unix operating system.

                    ------------------------

This story is republished with permission from the March 1995
{Cybernautics Digest}, a monthly summary of reports about converging
information technologies.

(Contact: Terry Hansen, Cybernautics Digest, c/o KFH Publications
Inc., 3530 Bagley Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103; 206-547-4950; Fax:
206-547-5355; E-mail: [e-mail]. U.S. subscription
rate: $24; $2 sample issue. Or visit us on the World Wide Web
at http://www.pscu.com)

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Matt Noah)
Subject: What is a Digital PBX?
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 95 02:39:10 GMT


What is the definition of a "digital" PBX?

Assuming an analog PBX is one in which the trunk lines are strictly
analog, e.g. E&M, Ground Start, is a "digital" PBX one in which the
trunk lines all carry PCM voice with digital signalling?  If so, what
type of digital signalling?  Is it T1?  Is it ISDN?  Is it something
other than T1 or ISDN?  Is it combinations of various digital standards?


Matt

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (jim chen)
Subject: Studio Quality NTSC Digital Video Realtime Transmission
Date: 28 Feb 1995 06:26:55 GMT
Organization: acns dcg


I am looking for ways to transmit realtime high resolution NTSC video
digitally across country or/& pipe around city. Current and near
future(three to six months) solution needed. Any information will help.

Please e-mail to [e-mail].


Jim Chen

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Feb 1995 21:49:44 EST
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA
Subject: What Are You Doing in the Falkland Islands?


I just had a couple of interesting thoughts regarding the new 500 area
code in the US:

 1. Someone gives out a number like 500-xxx-xxxx and the person getting
    it says "I thought you lived in Las Vegas?  What are you doing,
    running some kind of phone sex system in the Falkland Islands?  (A
lot
    of this is done in the Netherlands Antilles and a few other places.)

 2. Someone gets a note to return a call with an area code 500 number
and
    reaches some poor clueless person over in the Falkland Islands.  (It
    probably wouldn't work though; the numbers there are probably only
    4 or 5 digits, not 7.  It's not a very large place.)

(Falkland Islands moved to +500 some time after the war between Britain
and Argentina.  It was either in 1 809 or was nondialable and required
international operator assistance).


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It does not matter how many digits the
place has. If the number is direct dialable, then it can be used. In
most places where the local numbers are less than seven digits, you
will find the city code and country code are longer, to fill in the
blanks.    PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (DeFantom)
Subject: Sprint Fiber Cut; Any Information Available?
Date: 27 Feb 1995 23:03:29 -0500
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (DeFantom)


We were affected by a nasty fiber cut Sprint had in Texas way about
two weeks ago.  (Over four hours!)  Does anyone have any kind of
information or know where I can get it?  Our account team is not being
very forthcoming.


Thanks!!

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (TELECOM Digest Editor)
Subject: Last Laugh! Nick Cheats on His Wife
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 01:00:00 CST


This was the 'One Big Happy' comic strip for February 25:

Picture 1:

Grandma is yelling at Grandpa Nick. An angry look on her face, she
says, "I can't believe you'd waste money on such a thing!"

Their son has just come in the door and says "uh-oh, what now?".

Picture 2:

Grandma turns to son, still with an angry look on her face and
says, "Your father! Look at these charges on our phone bill!"

(Holding out a sheet of paper so the son can see it.)

Son says, "900 numbers?"

Picture 3:

Grandma continues her tirade at Grandpa Nick, who stands there with
an embarassed look on his face. She says "I consider it cheating, Nick."

Son (holding the phone bill and reading it) says, "Dad, you're calling
the smut lines?"

Picture 4:

Grandpa Nick's eyes brighten up. He looks at his son and says, "Smut?
What smut? Those numbers are the crossword puzzle help line."

Grandma still has an angry look on her face and says, "Cheater! No
wonder you've been using a ballpoint!"

In the foreground son's eyes are big and he stands there with a very
embarassed look on his face.


PAT

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V15 #121
******************************